Safety-envelop.



R. Z. NYGE. SAFETY ENVELOP. v APPLIUATION FILED An.za,19o9.

935,270. l i Patented sept.28,19o9.

T Elfl- HEMMRD Z. NYCE.

WWW v L W REINARD Z. N YCE, OF LANSDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY-ENVELOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 23, 1999.

Application led April 23, 1909. Serial No. 491,711.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that l, Riemann Z. Nron, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lansdale, in the county of Montgomery, State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lmprovenlents inSafety- Envelops; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to envelops of the class designed to preventsurreptitious access to the contents thereof, and has for one of itsobjects to improve the construction and increase the efficiency andutility of devices of this character.

The improved device comprises in general an envelop including a backflap having spaced slits extending longitudinally thereof and with atransverse slit connecting the longitudinally extending slits and aclosure Hap having' a barbed tongue at its free side, the slits in thebach flap permitting a relatively large opening to be formed therein byfoldingl the material which is released between the longitudinal slitsoutwardly and inserting the barbed tongue of the closure flap throughthe opening and tuclring the outwardly folded portions of the baclr flapinwardly again and over the barbs of t-he tongue, to complete theclosure of the envelop. By this means an envelop is produced whichcannot be opened without fracturing some portion thereof, and thusrevealing the fact that the envelop has been opened.

The invention consist-s in certain novel features of construction ashereafter shown and then specifically pointed out in the claims, and inthe drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the envelop in condition to receiveits contents with the material which is released by the slits foldedoutwardly to produce an aperture to receive the tongue of the closureflap. Fig. 2 is a view of the improved envelop fully closed. Fig. 3 isa. section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

The improved device may be constructed of any desired size and of anysuitable material, and it is not desired therefore to limit theinvention to any specific size or form of envelops or envelops formedfrom any specific material or employed for any particular purpose. Forthe purpose of illustration a conventional form of envelop is shown andcomprises a back portion 10 the bach flap 11 and the closure flap 12.End flaps 13`14 are also employed, to form closures to the ends of theenvelop.

In its preferred form the bach flap is provided with clefts 15-16 nearits ends, and the end flaps are provided with barbed tongues 17-18, thebarbs adapted to be folded inwardly and the tongues in that conditionpassed through the slits 15-16 and the tongues expanded into flatposition. Formed in the back flap 11 is a relatively long slit 19 nearthe free edge of the flap and a relatively short longitudinal slit 20spaced from the slit 19. The two slits 19 2O are connected by a centraltransverse slit 21, this formation of the slits releases tongue-likeportions 22-23 of the back flap material, the released portions adaptedto be folded outwardly as represented in Fig. 2 to form a relativelylarge opening thro-ugh the flap. The closure flap 12 is provided with abarbed tongue 24.

With a blank thus constructed the envelop is produced by folding theback iap 11 upon the body 1() and folding` the end iiaps over the foldedback flap and securing them as above described by inserting the tongues17--18 through the slits 15-16. This places the envelop in condition toreceive the contents, and after the contents have been deposited thetongue like portions 22-23 are folded outward into the position shown inFig. 2 and the closure flap 12 folded over with the barbed tongue 24inserted into the opening formed by the outwardly folded portions andthe point of the tongue 24 tucked beneath the body of the back flapbelow the relatively short slit 20. The outwardly folded portions 22-23are then tucked inwardly toward each other beneath the closure flap tocomplete the closing of the envelop.

Any suitable implement may be employed for tucking the portions 22-28into their flat former position, such as the blade of a pen-knife or athin strip of sheet metal.

The slit 19 it will be noted, is equal in length or slightly greaterthan the greatest width of the tongue 24, while the relatively shortslit 2O is about equal in length to the width of the root portion of thetongue 24. By this means the tongue 24 may be inserted into its seatwithin the envelop without folding the tongue, as the oblique sides ofthe tongue pass beneath the outer corners of the folded-over portionsQQ-Q-l, while the root portion of the tongue passes between the inneredges of the folded-over portions. The outer edges of the closure tlap12 are formed oblique or reversely inclined, as shown and the inner edgeof the tongue 24 is formed by the continuation of the oblique edges ofthe closure tlap. By this means the terminals of the tongue arecorrespondingly oblique, and when the envelop is closed as shown in Fig.2, the oblique terminals of the tongue extend beneath the body of theback tlap l1 of the envelop, and thus materially increase the holdingpower and grip of the tongue. These are import-ant features ofapplicants device and materially increases its efficiency and utility,as no danger exists of the operator fracturing the fragile tongue whensecuring the envelop, while at the same time any attempt to remove thetongue will result in its fracture.

As an additional security the edges of the end tlaps and of the closuretlap will be provided with the usual adhesive material indicated at25-2". The adhesive material of the end flaps are moistened and the endflaps sealed in position when'the envelop is manufactured, while theadhesive material of the closure flap will be moistened when the envelopis closed after the contents are placed therein.

llith an envelop thus constructed it will be obvious that after beingonce closed and secured the envelop cannot be opened without fracturingsome portion more particularly the relatively fragile tongue 2t of theclosure flap, and thus disclose the fact that the envelop has beenopened. The envelop will thus secure the contents against access byunauthorized persons without detection.

that is claimed is l. An envelop including a back flap and closure iap,the closure tiap having a barbed tongue and the back fiap having alongitudinal slit corresponding in length to the greater width of thebarbed tongue and a shorter slit spaced from the longer slit andcorresponding in length to the root portion of the barbed tongue andwith a transverse slit connecting the shorter and the longer slits,whereby portions of the envelop material between the longer and shorterslits are released to permitthe barbed tongue to be inserted into theinterior of the envelop and locked in position without folding thetongue.

2. An envelop including a back flap and a closure iap, the closure flaphaving oblique outer edges and with a tongue at its outer terminal, theinner edges of the tongue being also obliquely formed by continuing theoblique edges of the closure flap, the back tlap having a longitudinalslit corresponding in length to the greater width of the barbed tongueand a shorter slit spaced from the longer slit and corresponding inlength to the root portion of the barbed tongue and with a transverseslit connecting the shorter and the longer slits, whereby portions ofthe envelop material between the longer and shorter slits are releasedto permit the barbed tongue to be inserted into the interior of theenvelop and locked in position without folding the same with the obliqueedges of the tongue extending beneath the body of the envelop.

ln testimony whereof, l aHiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

REINARD Z. NYCE.

lVitnesses B. lVrrMAN DAMBLY, Ha'r'riu 7. A. DAMBLY.

